Last Trip to Florence - for Awhile

My friend Heather and I met in Florence for one final art, food, and more art (and more food) filled weekend.  We arrived Thursday and visited our favorite clothes and shoe stores.  As we wandered the cobblestone streets, I appreciated the intimate familiarity of visiting the same space multiple times.  An Entoncea near Ponte Vecchio pulled us in with its tiny tables and sandwiches to match.

We planned a private Medici Tour with our favorite guide, Siro, months ago.  He provided us books to read and a detailed plan to cover the major sites of this influential family.  Several days before we departed, Siro checked into the hospital with a heart virus.  He arranged for his wife Val, another certified guide, to give the tour.  She added an interesting twist by overlaying the role of women in the Medici family and in the Renaissance.

She laid the proverbial foundation in San Marco, the home of the Dominican monks.  We saw Fra Lippi paintings in several austere rooms and learned how this banking family financed aspects of the Church and how the famous monk Savonarola spewed fire to bring them down.

We finished the day at a three star Michelin restaurant where we savoured an 18 course meal.  Of course, I forgot my camera….